Everything never works

The best coaching adjustment I made was in the instructions I gave to my athletes. 

When I started, maybe it’s because I was young and almost exactly their age, maybe it’s because I felt I had to prove myself, maybe it was a little bit of both. But I would throw everything at them. “Fix your arm. Your head should look like this. Lift your chest. Pull your hips in. Flex your toe. Pick up your knee.”

Phew. That’s exhausting just to type. But that’s exactly what I would sound like. Verbal vomit on level 10. Do it all and do. it. NOW!

The girls would look at me, wide-eyed and just nod. They would proceed to fix absolutely nothing that I said. 

Everything never works. 

I learned to pick one thing. Even if there are ten things wrong. Still pick one thing. Your athlete can focus on that one thing, see improvement, gain confidence and then eventually, you can pick a new thing. 

It’s important to do this with ourselves. Find one thing. 

I used to be a person (okay, face it, I still am naturally) that thought I could master 7 goals at a time. Oh, you said one, watch me, I’ll do 7! Only thing that’s ever gotten me was burnout and disappointment. 

One summer, I set a goal to finish one book by end of summer. When my kids were tiny babies and never-sit-still toddlers, I stopped reading. I was just too tired. But I found myself missing the simple act of reading. So I said, just one book. By the end of that summer, I had finished three. Now, ten years later, I’m reading before bed every night, finishing dozens of books a year. 

It started with one thing. One focus. One task. One goal. 

Start there. Build confidence. Then add one new thing. 

What is the one thing you want to focus on this summer? OR, what are all the other things you’re going to let go of, for now!

#playyou

Coach D